Another day,another outcry of antisemitism when people speak out against the genocide of the people of Gaza carried out by Israel's heartless band of murderers. The "sensible center" media acts surprised, asking "as reasonable people want to know" if these individuals support Hamas, a capital crime in and of itself. Of course, that's not the actual issue, people just want to associate those speaking out with a group they can call terrorists so they too can label these latest individuals as a threat.

Side note: I do find it incredibly funny how much people make fuss about "supporting terrorists" when the UK and US both financially and materially have supported groups they themselves labeled as terrorist groups in the name of destabilizing regimes and other such fights. If anything, to do so would be just supporting a tradition both countries are well familiar with.

Back to the present, people (The Israeli Embassy in the UK amongst others) took particular issue with Bob Vylan chanting "Death, death to the IDF", a group that has never done anything wrong (sarcasm if it wasn't clear, here's a bonus of whistleblowers from the IDF itself). Kneecap isn't even in trouble for something they did at the festival, just residual claims from allegedly raising a flag of Hezbollah at a previous performance in Nov. 2024 (the group denies these claims).

"Death to the IDF" is as antisemitic a statement as "Death to the US Army" or other such statements. The IDF is not a Jewish organization, but an organization of the State of Israel — which despite its claims does not represent Jewish people around the world. Instead, it represents a particularly bloodthirsty and violent sect of Judaism which seek to annihilate anyone which disagrees with its goal of complete control of the area contested around the city of Jerusalem. Their history of committing not only war crimes but crimes against humanity cannot be overstated. War is hell, but the IDF revels in it, taking opportunity to occupy and desecrate the homes of those the kill and displace, murdering those attempting gain aid, and bombing civilian populations.

I can't speak on what was going on in the mind of the member being charged with the denied claim of raising the flag of Hezbollah, but I can say that according to a US Congressional report, Hezbollah's aims are "to drive Israel Defense Forces from southern Lebanon" and "...limit U.S. influence in Lebanon and the broader Middle East". Neither of these appears antisemitic, as the IDF has committed atrocities in Lebanon and against the Lebanese people, and the US has been in the Middle East committing their own war crimes and general atrocities for somewhere between 35-80 years depending on who you ask.

Both of these statements seem to hinge the claims of antisemitism on the relation to the IDF, which again might as well be called the War Crime Factory. These statements oppose the Israeli state and Zionism, which is distinctly not antisemitism. Many have talked about this, but it is on its face ridiculous to conflate the actions of a state (and support of their actions) as hatred against an oft-persecuted people across the world.

Actions against Jewish people and to strike fear into Jewish people are not acceptable and never have been. These actions are not those. This whole charade feels like cover for the despicable and heinous actions that the Israeli state takes against its people and neighbors. Purposefully muddying the waters to be able to wave away any actions they take as self-defense from an all-encompassing other, and wave away any actions against them as horrific antisemitism. The artists, individuals, and organizations that take a stand at this time are doing incredible work, and as Omar El Akkad said "One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This". I can only hope that day is soon and those suffering under the Israeli regime can live free once again.